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Tuesday, February 1, 2011

Women of the Bible - Hannah

Well....actually....I pick the lady that I feel God is leading me to study about....which means....I don't really know, either, from week to week!!!

So....today....let's learn a little about Ms. Hannah. This story holds such a special place in my heart. Our daughter and son-in-law named their first son, Samuel....based on this scripture.....

1 Samuel 1:27For this child I prayed;

and the LORD hath given me my petition which I asked of him

Hannah was the wife of Elkanah, a Levite, who was a priest. Hannah was unable to bear children and she suffered a lot of ridicule from her husband's second wife, Peninnah, who had born several children. Unlike Lot's daughters and Sarah and Hagar....who suffered the consequences when they took matters into their own hands....Hannah took her problem to the Lord. While in the temple, she prayed to God and asked Him to bless her with a son....and that she would in turn devote him back to the Lord. God heard and answered her prayers and she gave birth to the prophet, Samuel....and she kept her promise by returning him to the Temple once he was weaned. Don't you know that it had to break her heart to give up her son....just like it broke God's heart to give up His One and Only Son to die for our sins?!?!

But God....rewarded Hannah's faithfulness with three more sons and two daughters!!!

Conclusion:

It's always best to leave our problems in God's hands instead of trying to solve them on our own...which usually results in a huge mess. One lesson that I learned from the story of Hannah was how she lived up to the meaning of her name...."gracious".....because we're not told that she tried to defend herself against the harsh words of Peninnah....but with grace....she took her problem to the Lord!!!